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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. key — for a lock
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of law
  6. key — in music
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wax — to grow
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. key — the most important part
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. court — of a king
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. court — for sport
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com